∴Working With National Geographic (Traveller UK) - Part 2∴
Three more lessons learned from the experience
This year I was asked to work on two stories by National Geographic Traveller UK. The first story was to document Seoraksan, a mountain range on Korea’s east coast, as well as showing what it’s like to do a temple stay at the nearby hermitage of Naksansa. I wrote about what I learned on that shoot last week. The second story (which I cover today) was about Seoul’s youth culture as a global phenomenon. It was a thrill to be a part of such a well known entity, and I want to share some of what I learned from the experience.
Client and Photographer Tastes Will Overlap and Diverge
This is a lesson I’ve learned many times over, and while working on this article I learned it again. I don’t believe I’ve ever worked with a client who has selected the exact same images I would have for the final edit. It’s understandable to want all your favorite images to be featured, but it’s not something to be taken personally if some of them don’t make the cut. It’s not at all a slight on your images or your taste.
There are any number of behind-the-scenes reasons for their editorial choices that you can just have no way of knowing. They have to consider restrictions on space, the relationship between the images and the writing, the images’ uniqueness and similarity when compared to others in the issue, and simply put they need to make a taste call on the feel of the edit. You might not see all your favorite images included, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t include the right ones. In my first few experiences of this as a younger photographer I was quite frustrated. I felt like I wasn’t getting to put my best work front and center. With time though I came to see the pride in me at play here. When I learned to see the writing and the images as one cohesive piece, each strengthened by the other, I became much more understanding of the forces at play in the selection process, and more accepting of the expertise and insight of the editor.
Photography Is a Dozen Jobs in One
As a working photographer you’ll end up doing a lot more jobs than just photographing. This may seem like a tired point - we’ve all seen those complaint breakdowns on how much time is spent photographing compared to emailing, editing, chasing payments etc. I’m not talking about that.1 What I’m referring to is all the additional work that goes into making a project successful, beyond the photography itself.
You might have to be a producer, interviewer, interpreter, historian, sociologist, culinary advisor, guide and gofer. In my case, living in Korea and speaking ‘passable’ Korean has meant fulfilling the roles of producer and interpreter almost as often as that of the photographer. I find it quite common when working on articles that I’ll end up involved in steering the team’s direction a bit, suggesting locations that will be visually appealing while still fitting the bill, talking to the guy at the door in my bilingually broken way ensuring them that “big magazine very good bar very popular most popular one photo please”, explaining why the crowd in this neighbourhood feels different to the crowd in that neighbourhood and making sure they know that’s intestines they’re ordering. To me, now, this whole thing is what it means to be a working photographer.
Getting Comfortable With Discomfort
Sometimes you might have to push people a little to get the images you need, and this is uncomfortable for everyone. For this article I was working with a writer and a producer, but with time I came to realize the PD was much more accustomed to working as a tour guide. He was a kind and good-natured person, but he unfortunately was not tapped in to youth culture enough to steer us in the right direction for the story. This came to a head when, after a full day of multiple locations that didn’t quite feel right, day 2’s first stop was a library/bookstore in a very tourist-centric mall.
It’s a wonderful place to photograph, but it was another place that missed the mark for the story. I took the writer aside and told her it’d be better for both of us if we took the reigns a bit more from here on out. We spent the rest of the shoot days visiting locations that she’d researched and I’d vetted, as well as places I suggested as the group’s oracle on Korean youth culture2. I think the guide was a little put out to be taken out of the driver’s seat, but the article would have failed if we hadn’t been willing to deal with that. We were never impolite, but we did have to be resolute, and the rest of the shoot became a lot smoother for everyone when it was clear we were getting what we needed.
I hope some of what I’ve written here can be useful for anyone growing as a commercial photographer. If you have any specific questions about this shoot or the previous one, please reach out. I’ll do my best to help~
Cheers,
Chris
And honestly I always found those screeds kind of pesky. Every job has a ton of extra work to it that isn’t advertised on the tin. That’s not betrayal, that’s life.
Ha.
dude these are so good. great representation of korea
great photos!!!